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Manual of Instructions 

For County Forest Wardens and District 
Forest Wardens 

And Information in 
Regard to the Preven- 
tion and Suppression of 
Forest Fires 




J. E. BARTON 

STATE FORESTER 

1915 



Manual of Instructions 



FOR 



County Forest Wardens and District Forest 

Wardens 



AND 



Information ia Regard to the Prevention and 
Suppression of Forest Fires 



J. E. BARTON 

STATE FORESTER 

1915 







^ 




THE STATE JOURNAL COMPANY 

Printers to the Commonwealth 

Frankfort, Kentucky. 

1915 



D. Of D. 
uCT 30 1915 



INTRODUCTION. 

In the handling of any situation successfully it is 
obvious that the first thing which is necessary is a sys- 
tematic investigation of the subject as it presents itself 
at the immediate moment when the work is undertaken. 
In the fight against tuberculosis, for instance, the first 
step is to have a definite knowledge of how much tuber- 
culosis there is in the city or community involved; to 
have a definite knowledge, in so far as obtainable, of its 
causes and effects and conditions which promote or re- 
tard the disease. The same proposition is true with re- 
gard to the regeneration of a business in the hands of 
an efficiency expert. His first care is to gather and obtain 
facts with regard to the business as it then exists, and 
to observe all the details of the organization and opera- 
tion; then to systematize and correlate his results with 
a view of determining the cause and effect of the con- 
ditions as he finds them so that he may change, modify 
and remedy where it appears necessary- Exactly the 
same thing obtains as regards forest fires. If a system 
of protection from forest fires in the State is to be built 
up successfully, the first thing desired is to know the 
number of the fires within the State and a large amount 
of additional features which naturally present themselves 
in investigations of this character, such as extent of acre- 
age burned over, the attitude of the community with re- 
gard to forest fires, the best means of suppressing them, 
etc. Protection of the forests forms one of the essential 
factors on which the practice of scientific forestry in 
any State rests, and no forest policy within Kentucky is 
conceivable without adequate protection against forest 
fires, since it would be the height of folly to reforest one 
thousand acres of land to walnut and at the end of five 
years have the area burned over so that the result of 



five years' growth is absolutely destroyed. When the 
matter of forest protection within Kentucky was dis- 
cussed at first, it was patent that such a thing as danger 
and loss from forest fires was entirely unheard of by a 
great number of individuals. Indeed, it was said when 
the State Forester first took up the work and spoke of 
the necessities in this direction, that this was a phase 
of the work with which he would have no trouble, since 
Kentucky had very few forest fires. The records and 
data so far obtained do not show this, and they are val- 
uable in calling to the attention of the public, and more 
especially those directly interested in the forest fire sit- 
uation within the State, the necessity for adequate pro- 
tection from forest fires, since such protection cannot be 
looked upon in any other light than as property insur- 
ance. 

PROPERTY INSURANCE. 

There are a large number of interests in the State 
which are vitally concerned with regard to this matter 
of forest protection. The lumber interests, which depend 
upon the forests for their supply of material, are most 
keenly interested, since the forests constitute their stock 
in trade. Other interests which are to a large extent 
concerned are the railroads, which draw from the for- 
ests for large supplies of ties, poles, posts, bridge tim- 
bers, and other material; the telephone and telegraph 
companies, which depend upon the forests for their sup- 
ply of poles; the tanning industry, which depends upon 
the forests for its supply of tan bark; and the mining 
industry, which uses between three and four feet of tim- 
ber board measure for every ton of coal mined. There 
are also many other industries more or less dependent 
upon the resources of the forests of the State. 
SYSTEMATIC EFFORT NEEDED. 

The first systematic attempt to deal with the forest 
fire situation in Kentucky was made in the fall of 1913 



when about one dozen county forest wardens were ap- 
pointed in certain counties in the eastern part of the 
State. This county forest warden system has increased 
during the year of 1914 very materially, and with the 
growth of the system and the increase in the number of 
men in the field the necessity has been felt of putting 
in definite printed form all the instructions which have 
been issued heretofore covering the method of proce- 
dure, reports and other details of the work in hand in 
order that this information may be readily available for 
the men now in the service and for any new men who 
.may be added to the list of those already appointed. It 
is also expected that this book will be of general interest 
and for that reason matter has been included in its pages 
which is not, strictly speaking, intended for the instruc- 
tion of the men in the field. 



THE WEEKS LAW. 

By act of Congress, approved March 1, 1911 (36 S.tat., 
961), a bill was passed which had as its primary purpose 
this object: "To secure the maintenance of a perpetual 
growth of forest on the watersheds of navigable streams 
where such growth will materially aid in preventing 
floods, in improving low waters, in preventing erosion of 
steep slopes and the silting up of the river channels, and 
thereby improve the conditions for navigation." 

"While the improvement of the flow of navigable 
streams is the fundamental purpose, other benefits inci- 
dental in character but nevertheless important will be 
kept in view. Among these are: (1) Protection against 
disastrous erosion of the soil on mountain slopes and 
against the destruction of the soil and forest cover by 
forest fires; (2) Preservation of water powers, since, like 
navigation, they depend for their value upon the regu- 
larity of stream flow; (3) Preservation of the purity and 
continuity of flow of the mountain streams, with a view 
to their use for the water supply of towns and cities; 
(4) Continuance of a timber supply to meet the needs of 
the industries of the country; (5) Preservation of the 
beauty and attractiveness of the uplands for the recrea- 
tion and pleasure of the people." 

Work under this law has divided itself into two 
heads: (1) The acquisition of lands upon the watersheds 
of navigable streams in various states for the purposes 
detailed in the law; (2) The co-operation of the federal 
government through the Forest Service of the U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture with the various states in the 
protection of the forests at the headwaters of the navi- 
gable streams from destructive agencies, the chief of 
which, of course, is fire. An appropriation of money was 
made available for such protection. This co-operation in- 



8 

volved the execution of an agreement between the Secre- 
tary of Agriculture of the United States and the proper 
State authorities whereby the secretary agreed to spend 
a certain sum of money for forest fire protection on cer- 
tain fixed watersheds provided the State entering into 
the agreement would agree to spend a like sum; in other 
words, the federal government and the State would share 
equally in the expense of the protection. Already some 
twenty states have entered into such agreement and 
Kentucky was one of the latest states to do so. Under 
the terms of the agreement Kentucky was allotted 
$4,000 "Oy the United States Secretary of Agriculture for 
the purpose of forest protection and a like sum was al- 
lotted for the year 1914. With this federal co-operation 
in mind a plan of protection against forest fires was pre- 
pared for the State and put into effect. 

STATE FIRE PLAN. 

The fire plan adopted by the State Board of Forestry 
was as follows: 

(1) The State Board of Forestry, through its chair- 
man, shall enter into the usual co-operative agreement 
with the Forest Service of the United States Department 
of Agriculture whereby it can secure co-operation with 
the federal government in the matter of fire protection, 
and take advantage of the $4,000 allotted by the United 
States Secretary of Agriculture for that purpose. 

(2) In pursuance of this agreement the State shall 
be divided into ten fire patrol districts for administrative 
purposes in accordance with a map which is made a part 
of the fire plan. 

(3) Two patrolmen at large shall be appointed for 
the present to serve throughout the year, whose duty it 
shall be to organize the fire patrol systems in the various 
counties and see that the system is carried out in full. 



The salary of such patrolmen shall be $900 per annum, 
payable monthly, and they shall be allowed traveling and 
field expenses not to exceed $600 per year. 

(4) During the danger season for forest fires, ap- 
proximately three months, patrolmen will be appointed 
in such counties as the danger warrants. 

(5) The close co-operation of the Fish and Game 
Commission will be secured wherever practicable. 

(6) The active co-operation of timber land owners, 
railroads, etc., will be encouraged and secured wherever 
practicable. 

STATE FIRE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 
The fire protective system of the State may be divided 
into the work which is accomplished by the various offi- 
cers in charge of this work. 

THE STATE FORESTER. 

The State Forester under the direction of the State 
Board of Forestry and as a Collaborator in the United 
States Department of Agriculture has general charge of 
the fire protective work in the State. The district fire 
wardens are appointed to take charge of a district in the 
State which is composed of a number of counties, usually 
not over ten in number in any district. Of course, the 
smaller the district the more intensive the inspection 
and supervision of the district fire wardens can be. At 
the present time there are four district fire wardens in 
the State, three in the eastern part of the State and one 
in the western part of the State. It may be expected that 
the number of these wardens will be increased as the 
scope of the work is enlarged and as the funds available 
for the work are increased. 

COUNTY FOREST WARDENS. 

The county forest wardens are officers of the State 
empowered "to enforce all the forest laws enacted, to 
protect the State forest reserves, to see that all rules 



10 

and regulations are enforced, to report violations of the 
law to the State Forester, to assist in convicting offend- 
ers and to make an annual report to him of the forest 
conditions in their immediate neighborhood." Whenever 
it becomes necessary because of sickness or other ur- 
gent reason for a county patrolman to be off duty, he 
shall employ and pay a qualified substitute to serve in 
his place. In the event of absence aggregating more than 
two (2) days a month, the name, address, and period of 
service of each substitute employed, and the reasons for 
such employment should be reported at the end of each 
month. The names of both regular and substitute man 
should then be placed on the payroll for the respective 
time each has served that they may be paid accordingly. 
In connection with the patrol of the county, the forest 
wardens should make every effort to get in touch with the 
rural mail carriers and secure their co-operation in con- 
nection with the discovery and notification of a forest 
fire. An order has been issued by the postoffice department 
covering this character of service on the part of rural mail 
carriers, which is given in full. If rural mail carriers re- 
fuse to perform this sort of service, the forest wardens 
should call it to the attention of the State Forester. 

ORDER NO. 6315. 

The following instructions are promulgated for the 
guidance of the postal employees concerned: 

"In accordance with the request of the Secretary of 
Agriculture, this department has arranged a plan of co- 
operation with State and National forest officers whereby 
rural and star route carriers shall report forest fires dis- 
covered by them along their routes to persons designated 
by the State and National authorities to receive such in- 
telligence. 

"Co-operation with the State officers will be given in 
the following states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New 



11 

Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, 
Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Idaho, Wash- 
ington, Oregon, and California. 

"The national forest officers will be co-operated with in 
the following states: Florida, Arkansas, South Dakota, 
Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Montana, 
Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California. 

"The State and National authorities will inform post- 
masters as to whom the discovery of fires should be re- 
ported, and each rural carrier should be directed to co- 
operate to the fullest extent with such authorities in the 
manner agreed upon, namely: that the carrier shall report 
a fire to the nearest State fire warden or officer on his 
route, or if no such warden or National officer lives on 
the route, to arrange through some responsible citizen to 
have him notified, by telephone, if possible. Star route 
carriers are included in the plan of co-operation and 
should be requested to report the discovery of fires in the 
same manner as will be done by the rural carriers. 

"Postmasters in or near national forests are also di- 
rected to report fires to the nearest forest officer." 

DUTIES OF COUNTY FOREST WARDENS. 

The duties of the forest wardens divide themselves 
roughly into two classes: (1) the prevention of forest 
fires, and (2) the suppression of forest fires which may 
occur. Undoubtedly, the most import feature of the work 
is to prevent the occurrence of forest fires if this is at all 
possible, consequently the county forest fire warden will 
find that his duties involve a great many phases of activity. 
In the first place he should be as thoroughly familiar 
with the county to which he is assigned as it is possible 
to be. To accomplish this he should take every occasion 
to make trips over the county and extend his acquaintance 
among the people of the county so that he may secure their 
co-operation and assistance in the work which he has 



12 

undertaken. He should familiarize himself thoroughly 
with all the routes of travel through ,ut the county and the 
easiest method of reaching each section from his head- 
quarters, wherever it may be. He should familiarize him- 
self, not only with the main routes of travel, but with 
the trails and short cuts through the mountains from one 
vicinity to another. In addition he should provide himself 
with some means of transportation. This would usually 
be a horse, since in the mountain section of the country 
the only sure means of travel during most of the season 
is by horseback. It is impossible for a county warden to 
cover the amount of ground with the frequency which he 
should without a horse at his disposal. He should ac- 
quaint himself with all the means of communication in 
his county — telephones, telegraph and rural carriers — in 
order that he may be able to take advantage of the 
quickest means of communication for obtaining information 
with regard to forest fires which may occur and directing 
operations when forest fires are under way. When one 
county warden is assigned to each county it is in a large 
measure impracticable that he should cover the county 
with the frequency which is desirable. To offset this he 
will find it possible in a great many instances to estab- 
lish such relations with individuals in various sections 
of the county that they will undertake for him to notify 
him of forest fires which may occur and to engage in the 
suppression of such fires when they do occur until the 
arrival of the forest warden or to take charge of a fire en- 
tirely providing the warden is so occupied in other quarters 
that he is not able personally to get to the fire. Cordial 
relations with a considerable number of individuals in the 
county who will undertake this character of work will 
add very decidedly to the efficiency of the county forest 
warden, and in some instances will relieve him of consid- 
erable burden of work in some directions by affording him 
opportunity to undertake additional work in others. Since 



13 

the main object of the fire protective work is fire preven- 
tion, every opportunity should be taken by the county 
forest wardens to bring to the attention of the people the 
character of work in which he is engaged, the danger of 
forest fires to property and life, the value of the resources 
destroyed and the effect upon the community which the 
destruction of the forests as a resource will cause. In this 
connection a campaign of publicity will suggest itself, and 
the method of obtaining the desirable publicity will vary 
with the individual, but there are certain channels through 
which all publicity may be most easily disseminated. 
Under these come the newspapers, the schools, county 
meetings of various sorts and the posting of notices with 
regard to forest fires, which are furnished by the office of 
the State Forester for that purpose. These notices may be 
repeatedly torn down or destroyed by careless individuals, 
but they should be replaced by the county forest warden 
whenever this is done. 

i/When a forest fire actually does occur in spite of all 
efforts to prevent such fire, the forest officer should im- 
mediately repair to the scene of the fire and undertake 
its suppression. The smaller the fire is and the earlier 
the work of extinguishing it is undertaken the less the 
amount of work involved and the easier the proposition of 
handling it. In this connection it will suggest itself to 
the county warden that, if he can get a large number of 
individuals interested in extinguishing small fires as they 
may occur, he will have accomplished a great deal in the 
direction of forest protection for his county. When fires 
of large size do occur, as is frequently the case, it is the 
duty of the county warden to undertake their suppression. 
In a large fire he will find as a usual thing that he is not 
able to accomplish very much alone. In this connection 
additional help must be obtained and so far as practicable 
should be obtained from the citizens of the neighborhood 
who have an interest in suppressing the fire. Indiscriminate 



14 

hiring of labor for suppressing of forest fires is apt to 
encourage setting of additional fires rather than being a 
means to the suppression of the forest fire nuisance, there- 
fore, in the future the State Forester will not authorize 
any hiring of this class of labor. Fires which occur on 
the land of individuals because of clearing land, burning 
tobacco beds or from whatever cause should be extinguished 
by such individuals without pay. Fires set by logging 
railroads or sawmills should be extinguished by the in- 
dividual or company responsible without pay from the 
State. 

DANGER SEASON FROM FOREST FIRES. 

There are two seasons of the year when forest fires 
may ordinarily be expected. One of them occurs in the 
fall, approximately from the first of October to the middle 
of December. The other season occurs in the spring, con- 
tinuing approximately from March 1 to May 1. Both these 
seasons may be materially lengthened or shortened by 
climatic conditions. There is nothing definite about these 
seasons and the county forest wardens will be retained 
only so long as the actual danger from forest fires exists. 

PATROL ROUTES. 

It will suggest itself to the county forest wardens in 
connection with the patroling of the district that definite 
patrols should be established, and it is necessary that this 
be done before a definite letter of appointment can be 
issued. This serves two purposes: the systematizing of 
the work of the forest wardens, and it gives the State 
Forester and the district forest wardens an opportunity tc 
have some check on the work the county wardens are 
doing. In fixing the patrol routes of the county there are 
a great many things which must be taken into considera- 
tion and the greatest of these is the fire hazard; that is, 
the relative danger from forest fires which may reasonably 



15 

be expected in the various sections of the county and the 
frequency with which fires occur in different parts of the 
county. It may be that there are certain portions of the 
county in which there is a large open agricultural region. 
If this is true, it natrually follows that this section of the 
county is not one in which there is any great danger from 
forest fires, if there is any, and consequently in laying out 
the patrol, these routes will not be planned to cover this 
agricultural territory except in unusual cases where it is 
necessary to cover this territory to reach other regions. 
Also, in connection with the patrol routes after they are 
once laid out the greatest attention should be given to 
those routes which go through sections of the county 
where forest fires have been found within the experience 
of the wardens most frequently to occur. Other routes may 
be travelled, but, if the experience of the warden shows 
that on any patrol route fires infrequently occur, this route 
should be patrolled only at infrequent intervals — just often 
enough to keep in touch with the people who live along the 
route and the conditions which there exist. It should be 
the aim of the county warden in connection with these 
patrol routes to study his county and so to inform him- 
self that he may have definite knowledge of where in the 
county the fire hazard is the greatest. 

FOREST FIRES. 

All forest fires may be classed under three heads: 
(1) surface; (2) ground fires; (3) crown fires. Surface 
fires burn along the surface of the ground; ground fires 
burn into the ground itself, consuming decayed logs, the 
humus and duff and even the ground. The crown fires 
designate a fire which reaches up into the top of trees 
and consumes everything in the nature of forest growth in 
its path. This latter class of fires falls usually, in the be- 
ginning, into one of the other classes. The causes of 
fires are decidedly varied, as has been indicated by the 



16 

season just passed. In connection with each forest fire 
it should be the duty of each county warden to ascertain, 
if possible, the cause of the fire and indicate this in con- 
nection with his report, since it is only by study of causes 
of forest fires that any method of control in the future may 
be devised. Sometimes it is possible to indicate the 
probable cause of fire without being able to state definitely 
the actual cause. In cases of this character where the 
cause of fire is reasonably certain without being absolutely 
determined, it is better to set down the probable cause of 
the fire: (e. g. "probably hunters") than to give the cause 
of the fire "unknown," since it is only by a careful study 
of the causes that adequate methods of suppression of 
forest fires can be devised. Among the causes of forest 
fires in accordance with the classification in use at the 
present time by the office of the State Forester are: (1) 
Lightning; (2) railroads; (3) sawmills; (4) brush burning; 
(5) campers; (6) incendiary; (7) miscellaneous; (8) un- 
known. (1) Fires which start from lightning are of fre- 
quent occurrence and are always definitely to be deter- 
mined; (2) fires which start from railroads may start 
from one of several agencies — locomotives, passenger or 
freight engines, either from the sparks or from the ashes 
dumped from the ash box. The fires attributed to rail- 
roads may start from logging engines and also steam 
shovels or plows. (3) Sawmills. Under this cause may 
be grouped fires which start from any character of saw * 
mill either permanent, temporary or portable, or from 
logging donkeys in the woods. (4) Burning brush. Under 
this head may be classed fires which escape from clearing 
land or clearing right of ways or from fire set to aid in 
clearing any other character of operation. (5) Under the 
heading of campers may be classed not only campers but 
hunters of various kind, such as coon hunters, bee hunters, 
berry pickers, smokers, children, etc., who make fires in 
the woods and leave them to burn unattended. Under the 



17 

heading of incendiary will fall all causes for fire whore it 
is expected that individuals set fire to the woods ma- 
liciously and left them to burn. (3) Miscellaneous. Under 
this heading may be grouped any cause which ordinarily 
might not be expected to cause a forest fire, such as a 
spark from the chimney of a house, a burning building 
which sets fire to adjacent woods and the sun reflecting 
on a glass bottle so that the glass bottle acts as a burning 
glass and other causes of this character. It will be ob- 
served that most of the fires are preventable with the 
exception of those caused by lightning and incendiaries, 
and the efforts of the county wardens should be to reduce 
the causes of preventable forest fires down to the minimum. 

In connection with the actual fighting of forest fires, 
all wardens should bear this in mind, that there is no such 
thing as its being impossible to control and suppress a 
forest fire, common opinion to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing. A forest fire in its early stage is easily extinguished 
while in its later stage it may take some time — often sev- 
eral days — to control the fire, but eventually this can be 
done, and the work of this office in the matter of protec- 
tion against forest fires is based on this fact. Even the 
worst forest fires which are impossible of control during 
an extremely high wind become capable of suppression 
when the wind abates. 

The usual method of fighting forest fires and, un- 
doubtedly, the best method of attack is what is called by 
the rangers on the Western National Forests "running a 
fire to a point or a peak." This is accomplished by going 
a certain ways ahead of the fire to some point of natural 
vantage (such as an open place in the woods, trail, road 
or bridge) and heading the fire off at this point by reduc- 
ing the face of the fire until eventually the advancing 
front is reduced to a point. The actual method of reduc- 
ing the fvont of a fire to a point may be varied by the 
circumstances and the existing natural features of the 



18 

country. It may be necessary to trench ahead of the 
fire, to take a right of way clear of leaves, or to back 
fire along a road, trail or ridge. It is possible only to sug- 
gest these features of fighting forest fires since they vary 
considerably in each section or region where a fire occurs, 
but the ingenuity of the individual will suggest taking ad- 
vantage of natural barriers and fighting from them as 
a basis. 

There are some features of forest fires which need 
emphasis, and they are as follows: A surface fire or any 
forest fire burns rapidly up hill but burns slowly down hill. 
A forest fire also burns slowly against the wind. Most of 
the fires with which you will have to deal are ground 
fires — that is, they burn in the leaves on the ground. Since 
this is so, a very small break will stop a fire long enough 
to give a man a chance to fight it. A trail, a small stream, 
a road or any such feature will form a point of vantage 
to work from. Another thing, fire burns a great deal less 
fiercely at night and in the early hours of the morning, 
and a great deal of advantage may be gained by trenching 
or other operations against a fire during these hours, pro- 
vided it is at all feasible. Also in dealing with forest fires, 
the early morning and late evening hours are usually more 
favorable to a man who is working than the hours in the 
middle of the day, since he is not handicapped by the heat. 

FIRE FIGHTING TOOLS. 

Just what are the best tools for fighting forest fires 
in Kentucky so that the character of tools used may be 
standarized has not been definitely determined. Various 
county wardens have desired to use a variety of tools, in- 
cluding rakes, shovels, hoes, and pitchforks. The especial 
tool of these enumerated, which suits the conditions, will 
be largely determined by the locality in which the fire 
occurs and the character of the fire to some extent. In 
the case of a surface fire (and a large number of the fires 



19 

which occur are of this class) undoubtedly, rakes and 
pitchforks and possibly hoes are the best tools to use. These 
are easily obtained, sometimes locally, but more often by 
purchase at the local stores. When a supply of this ma- 
terial is purchased locally, the bill covering it should be 
submitted to the office of the State Forester, where voucher 
for the purchase will be made out and returned for signa- 
ture to the individual or company from whom the purchase 
was made. Each county warden on his patrol routes should 
carry with him some character of fire fighting tool in 
order that he may be prepared, when he discovers a small 
fire at any time to extinguish it, provided it is possible for 
one man to handle it. If he does this, it will often be 
found that he can control a fire himself at the moment of 
finding it, which, were he obliged to go any distance to 
get some character of tool, would be too large for handling 
by any single individual. 

LOOKOUT TOWERS. 

It has been the general experience in connection 
with forest fires that the prime necessity in connection 
with the suppression of them is to get to the fire at the 
earliest opportunity. In order that this may be done it is 
necessary that the fire be discovered as soon as it is set 
from whatever cause. With the extent of territory which 
must be covered in Kentucky and the comparatively limited 
amount of funds available, the number of patrolmen which 
can be placed in any individual county or region is rela- 
tively small. Under these conditions the problem is to 
make the services of the men available extend over the 
largest amount of territory possible. It naturally suggests 
itself in this connection that high points from which a 
large extent of territory can be viewed are good places 
from which fires may be discovered. In several instances 
individual patrolmen have selected available points which 
command a good view of the surrounding country and 



20 

which are readily accessible and have used these as points 
from which to detect forest fires as early after they are set 
as possible. This has served in a measure. However, if the 
high point is used just as it is without any improvements 
on it, it has several disadvantages. In the first place (and 
this is particularly true in the hardwood regions of Ken- 
tucky), the view is usually interfered with by trees and 
undergrowth. In the second place, when a fire is dis- 
covered, if there is no way of communication from the 
lookout point to individuals who will fight the fire, the 
chances are that a good deal of time is lost in getting to 
the fire and beginning operations for the suppression of it. 
In view of this fact since the utility of lookout points in 
certain regions and under certain conditions seems to be 
fairly well determined, it is well at this time to call at- 
tention to the manner in which lookout points may be 
made most available for the detection of forest fires and 
for beginning operations of suppression at the earliest 
practicable moment. In order that the view from the look- 
out points may be unobstructed, a lookout tower will read- 
ily suggest itself as the natural means of overcoming this 
difficulty. Towers of this character have been used very 
widely in the United States both on the National Forests 
and also in the individual states. Massachusetts, Minne- 
sota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Maryland, and others 
have erected numbers of these towers and have put them 
into operation. 

The general character of the towers is a supporting 
substructure usually 4-cornered, tapering from the base to 
the top, where a platform is erected for observation pur- 
poses. This platform may be covered or not as the cir- 
cumstances warrant. The elevation of these towers above 
the surrounding trees and undergrowth usually affords an 
uninterrupted view of the surrounding region and this is 
oftentimes greatly enhanced by cutting down a few trees 
which interfere to a more or less extent. The material of 



21 

which these lookout towers are made may be of wood taken 
from the surrounding forest or it may be steel. Steel 
towers in the general experience of those who have tried 
them seem to be the most satisfactory and are cheaper in 
localities easily accessible to railroad shipping points. 
Wooden towers are less expensive in localities at consider- 
able distance from a railroad shipping point or back from 
any good roads. In selecting a lookout point the facilities 
of transportation of material should be borne in mind. 
Oftentimes it is possible by the selection of a well placed 
tree to build an extremely cheap and at the same time 
serviceable station by cutting away the limbs of the tree 
and by cutting off the top at the point desired and erecting 
a platform in the top of the tree and placing the neces- 
sary ladder to reach the platform. This has been done 
in one instance within my knowledge in Eastern Kentucky. 
The cost of construction of these towers varies with the 
kind of material used and the facilities of getting ma- 
terial to these points. I think it is safe to say that for a 
four cornered wooden tower made out of material on the 
ground the cost will run up to $100, varying considerably 
with the conditions; and that steel towers will run up 
from $100 to $300, varying with the height of the tower and 
conditions. Data which is on file in this office shows a 
steel tower 18 feet square at the base by 10 feet square at 
the top, made of 4x4 angle iron, will cost approximately 
$225 f. o. b. shipping point. The building at the top of the 
tower will cost approximately $75. This does not take into 
consideration the cost of erection and construction or 
transportation. A 30 foot tower of 3 1 / 2 x3 1 / 2 angle iron and 
516 cross rods will cost approximately $175 f. o. b. shipping 
point. A 30 foot tower in this State will usually serve all 
purposes. To make the lookout tower effective there 
should be some means of communication from the tower to 
the patrolmen, who will be in position to go immediately 
to the fire and suppress it. What this means of communica- 



22 

tion between the tower and the station of the men is will 
depend on circumstances. The best system of communica- 
tion, of course, is the telephone. In a great many instances 
a heliograph arrangement may be used with success, as 
has been done on several of the National Forests in the 
West. Also, some pre-arranged system of signals by flags 
may be carried out, as has also been done successfully. The 
equipment of these lookout towers in order that they may 
be made most effective is to provide a map of the country 
and secure the location of fires by a system of observation 
taken through alidades with relation to the permanent map 
located in the lookout station. The map should of course 
be oriented to conform with the country in which it is to 
be used. From a station of this character the limit of 
range will vary greatly, depending on the natural configura- 
tion of the country in which the station is situated. This 
may be stated roughly as from 10 to 20 miles and may vary 
so far as the individual station is concerned, depending on 
the outlook in any direction. It is safe to say, I think, 
that the average will be approximately 15 miles. With 
these facts in mind it appears that a few well selected 
stations properly provided with means of communication 
would do the work of a large number of patrolmen, and 
that while the extra cost of installation is somewhat large 
this would more than offset the decrease in the wages of 
the patrolmen made necessary by the use of the stations. 
These facts are recommended particularly to the atten- 
tion of the forest fires associations in Kentucky for their 
consideration, since they are through their resources best 
able to secure the construction of such lookout stations as 
are here recommended. The office of the State Forester is 
in position to supply definite information with regard to 
these stations and to answer all questions with regard to 
their utility and feasibility. 

A lookout station in operation this summer near 
Jenkins on the lands of the Consolidation Coal Company 
has demonstrated its efficiency very satisfactorily. 



23 

REPORTS. 

There are various reports which it is required that 
the county fire wardens submit, covering the work which 
has been done by them. These will in part be submitted 
to the district fire warden and in part to the State Forester. 
It is expected that these reports will be made out carefully 
and in detail and that they will form a complete record of 
the work done by the county warden in any season. These 
reports should be submitted on the forms furnished by the 
office of the State Forester. A loose leaf cover is furnished 
each man under appointment in which the forms neces- 
sary for reports should be kept for the sake of convenience. 
A limited number of blanks of each form will be sent to 
the county forest warden at the time of his appointment. 
As additional blanks are needed they will be supplied by 
the State Forester on request. 

Form 1. This is a payroll which is submitted by the 
State Forester to the Auditor for payment covering the 
services of all men in the field. 

Form 2. Daily Report Blank. On this blank should 
be made out each day a record of the work done. Each 
day should be accounted for on the report submitted, and 
when no work is done on any particular day this fact 
should be so stated on the report blank and the reason 
for not doing the work or why no work was necessary 
should be stated on the blank also. At the end of the 
month all these blanks should be sent to the State For- 
ester for his inspection and in a 30-day month each day 
should be accounted for as also in a 31-day month. Since 
spaces are provided for the record of two days on each 
blank form, there will usually be sent in by each man 
either 15 or 16 Forms 2. In February, of course, only 
14 blank forms will be filled out and submitted. 

Form 3. On this form should be submitted the time 
of all temporary laborers who are hired by a county 
forest warden to extinguish fire. It is not intended that 



24 

the time of a county warden himself will be submitted 
on this form. The form may, however, be used for sub- 
mitting a statement of the amount of labor performed by 
any temporary laborer. At the top of the form should be 
stated the name of the man to whom money is due and 
his address, the month during which he was employed and 
the year. The days on which he was employed and the 
rate of pay and the amount due him, together with any 
remarks, should be included in the body of the form. The 
numbers under "date" column indicate the days of the 
month. If on the 15th of the month a certain individual 
works 5 hours at the rate of 25c per hour, the entry 
should read as follows: 

Date Time Rate Amount 

15 5 hours 25c $1.25 

The officer in charge of the work should sign his 
name at the bottom of the- form. 

Form 4. This form is intended to cover special work 
in connection with the inspection of railroad engines and 
will not be generally furnished but will be provided only 
to such men as are assigned especially to this character 
of work. 

Form 5. Fire Report. These reports should be num- 
bered by each warden serially during any calendar year. 
All of the blanks discovered should be filled out. Your 
attention is especially directed to the blank space pro- 
vided for outlining the cause of the fire as has hereto- 
fore been stated. The cause of any forest fire should be 
especially investigated and, if it is possible to determine 
the cause of the fire, this should be so done. If the exact 
cause cannot be determined and the probable cause is 
determined within a reasonable certainty in the mind 
of the county forest warden, the probable cause should 
he given with the statement to the effect that it is prob- 
ably the cause, as for instance, "probably hunters." It is 
aot expected that the warden will guess at the cause of 



25 

the fire. It is better to write down "unknown" than to 
make a guess of this sort, but on the other hand there are 
instances where the forest warden is reasonably certain 
of the cause of the fire without being actually satisfied 
that this is true. All the blanks on the fire report should 
be filled out, especially those on the back of the form. 
This office is especially interested in the number of acres 
burned over and all the other information asked for on 
the back of the form. This information should be deter- 
mined as accurately as it is possible for the individual to 
do it. Probably the greatest trouble will be had with the 
amount of and value of timber destroyed and only ex- 
perience will give the county forest warden the knowl- 
edge accurately to estimate this damage, but he should 
conscientiously endeavor to ascertain the cost of this dam- 
age. If he is not able to estimate in feet board measure 
a stumpage value for the reason that the timber in his 
region is usually sold by the acre or by the tree, it is 
permissible for him to estimate the damage in this fash- 
ion and it can then be reduced to other units by the State 
Forester. The damage to young growth is one of the 
hardest propositions which the county forest wardens 
have to deal with. There seems to be no definite under- 
standing of the value of the young growth. For the pur- 
pose of computing the damage from fire, this office has 
tried to provide a rule- which will help out the county 
forest warden in the absence of more definite informa- 
tion. Young growth may be considered for the present 
as increasing in value at the rate of 25c per acre per 
year; that is, if the average age of young growth on an 
area, which has been burned over, is three years, the 
value of the young growth will be three times twenty-five 
cents, or 75c per acre, but to this should be added $5.00 
which may be taken as the cost of replanting forest 
growth on an acre of ground. This method of figuring the 
value of young growth may be applied to timber up to 



26 

ten inches in diameter. If the young growth is very de- 
cidedly of two ages, say three years and twelve years, 
the two different ages should be used in computing the 
value of the young growth and no. average of such a wide 
difference in years attempted. There is no blank space 
provided on the fire report for the signature of the forest 
officer Who makes the report, but each report should be 
signed by the county forest warden making it at the 
bottom of the back of the form. 

Form 6. It is expected that post card, Form No. 6, 
will be submitted at the end of each week by each 
county forest warden to the district fire warden whose 
address will be furnished in the beginning of each fire 
season. There is one detail of the information asked for 
to which I desire to call your attention, the 2nd cap- 
tion. Under this caption, it is intended that the county 
forest warden will give the number designation of the 
route patrolled by him as outlined in his letter of author- 
ization; for instance, his letter of authorization has a 
Route No. 5 which covers a certain territory and, if he 
has patrolled that route during the week, it is expected 
that he will put it after the 2nd caption "No. 5." If he 
has also patrolled No. 7 and No. 8, these should also be 
added. There has been confusion in this respect. Certain 
county wardens have indicated the total number of routes 
patrolled, as for instance 3 where they have patrolled 
No. 4, No. 7 and No. 3, and 4 where they have patrolled 
No. 1, No. 4, No. 7 and No. 3 instead of giving the number 
of the routes as called for. Under the caption of "Notices 
posted," if it is possible to do so, place where these 
notices have been posted should be given. At the end 
of each month during the fire season, the post cards 
should be mailed by the district fire warden to the office 
of the State Forester. 



27 

DISTRICT FIRE WARDEN'S EXPENSE ACCOUNTS. 

The district fire wardens are allowed their traveling 
expenses. Through a recent ruling of the Auditor and in 
compliance with the law passed by the session of the 
legislature of 1914, it is necessary at the present time 
that each expense for traveling amounting to $1 should 
be covered by sub-voucher. This sub-voucher should be 
filled out and submitted with the account. Account should 
be completely itemized for each detail of expense in- 
curred. Through recent ruling of the Auditor, expenses 
incurred for chair car during day travel, for tips, or ex- 
orbitant charges for lodging will not be allowed. 

PROSECUTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE FOREST 

LAW. 

In connection with fires which have occurred and 
especially in connection with the arrests which have 
been made and the attempts which have been put for- 
ward to secure indictments before the grand jury for 
fires which have been set out, the necessary information 
often has been lacking to secure convictions and indict- 
ments and also in some instances the witnesses upon 
which the State depended to establish its cases were not 
reliable when it came down to the point of trial. They 
changed their testimony from what they had previously 
given to the county warden. In this connection certain 
points must be made clear which should be borne in mind 
in connection with the working up of cases of fire tres- 
pass. In the first place when a forest officer finds that 
a fire has been set either willfully and left to burn or 
has been set and allowed to burn through the neglect 
and carelessness of an individual or corporation, he 
should in all cases endeavor to secure as much first hand 
information on the ground as he possibly can. This in- 
formation he should jot down in his note book at the 
time investigation is made, since it would be permissible 



28 

to use such evidence when trial comes up to refresh his 
memory. This information should he as complete as feas- 
ible and should include the day, month, year, time of day, 
etc. Another important feature of the investigation is the 
direction of the wind at the time of the fire, since this 
is in a good many cases the determining factor as to 
the way in which the fire spread. This is especially true 
in regard to railroads and the fires which occur on rights 
of way. It should also include the accurate location of 
the fire and the size of the territory burned over should 
be estimated as closely as possible. In a good many 
instances the best way to obtain this is by pacing around 
it. The amount of damage done should also be ascer- 
tained in as much detail and with as great care as the 
circumstances warrant. In addition the witnesses to it 
should be questioned, and, if possible, a statement signed 
by them should be obtained at the time, setting forth 
the facts with regard to the fire, which may be used in 
connection with investigation before the grand jury or 
trial in any court. This would also serve as a check 
against changing of testimony by individuals at the time 
of trial or before the grand jury. It is always advisable, 
when possible, to have the county warden's report and 
investigation witnessed by some disinterested individual 
so that his testimony is not unsupported. It must be 
borne in mind that information secured at the time and 
on the ground is of a great deal more value than any in- 
formation subsequently gathered. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

Upon request of the county forest wardens, a limited 
supply of paper, envelopes and stamps will be furnished 
him to use in his official correspondence. He should re- 
quest a supply of this ahead of time in order that he 
may have a supply on hand. At the present time it does 



29 

not seem feasible to furnish directly from the office of 
the State Forester other material than that herewith 
specified. 

MAPS. 

In connection with the matter of the protection of 
the forests of the State from fire it is essential that 
there be adequate maps covering the details of the forest 
fire plan of the State between the State Forester and 
all the county forest wardens. The State Forester's 
office is having prepared maps of the State on which will 
be placed information of a character which the county 
forest wardens will find helpful in connection with the 
work. They will also be expected to furnish to the office 
of the State Forester from time to time additional details 
of the conditions which exist in their county, which will 
be of use in the State Forester's office and to the Dis- 
trict Fire Wardens in determining the points of greatest 
fire hazard, the patrol routes requiring the greatest at- 
tention, the patrol routes in general and all other factors 
which enter into the proper pursuance of the work. As 
rapidly as possible, large maps of the individual counties 
provided with county forest wardens will be compiled and 
put in the hands of the county forest wardens, since it is 
felt that without maps of this character a great deal 
of information accumulated by the individual county for- 
est warden will be lost upon the resignation or the dis- 
continuance of the services of any individual warden. It 
is also felt that maps of this sort will be of the greatest 
assistance to the county forest wardens in their work. 

COUNTY FOREST PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATIONS. 

Since the amount of funds available at the present 
time for forest fire protective purposes in the State is 
limited and it is not ordinarily possible to place more 
than one county warden in each county, it is evident that 
the character of patrol will not be as intensive as de- 



30 

sirable unless various agencies within the county can 
be enlisted to help in this work. Individuals, companies 
and corporations, who are timberland owners or lessees, 
might naturally be expected to be interested in the pro- 
tection of their own timber as a resource. Working on 
this supposition it has been the endeavor of the office of 
the State Forester to organize the various interests in 
the county into fire protective associations in order that 
they might as an organization co-operate with the State 
in the matter of fire protection. This work has progressed 
in several counties and in order to standardize it a uni- 
form set of articles of association and constitution and 
by-laws have been made out by the State Forester, and 
it is urged that each County Protective Association organ- 
ized adopt these uniform articles of association with only 
such modifications as may appear locally necessary. One 
of the essential features of the assocations so organized 
is that they shall become financially interested of them- 
selves and for themselves in protecting the acreage of 
timber represented by the members of the association. 
When county associations are thus organized, it is pos- 
sible then to arrange for co-operation with the State 
whereby the expenses of fighting and suppressing forest 
fires in the county are borne on approximately a half 
and half basis by the State and the County Forest Pro- 
tective Association. In this way it is possible to secure 
a great deal more intensive patrol since the funds avail- 
able are larger. Also, since the individuals, companies 
and corporations are themselves members of the asso- 
ciation, they serve as a medium of publicity through 
which the danger from forest fires is brought to the at- 
tention of the public and the fact that forest fires are 
in a large measure preventable is impressed on the citi- 
zens of the county. Co-operation between the office of the 
State Forester and the county association is arranged 
for in a written agreement. It is not essential that one 



31 

r - 

county be used as a unit for the co-operative forest fire 
association. Several adjacent counties which have like 
interests may be advantageously included in one associa- 
tion. This is especially true where large holdings of 
individual corporations are embraced in several counties. 
The idea with regard to these co-operative associations 
is that they shall be made as flexible as possible consist- 
ent with uniformity of organization and which meet 
local conditions to the extent that it is feasible. 

BOY SCOUTS. 

In several states, and notably Michigan, the boy 
scouts have been utilized as a means of protection and 
prevention of forest fires. In Michigan, by special legis- 
lative arrangements, the boy scouts have become a part 
of the organization for the purpose of dealing with the 
forest fire danger. The school boys of Kentucky, particu- 
larly as organized in the boy scout movement, can accom- 
plish a wonderful work in protecting and conserving the 
forests of the State as a resource and increasing the 
timber supply of the Commonwealth. In two counties, 
namely: Harlan and Bell, the boy scouts have already 
done a large amount of work in the direction of fighting 
forest fires and reporting forest fires which may occur. 
The State Forester is desirous of extending this co-opera- 
tion between the boy scouts and the office of the State 
Forester as far as possible and will gladly explain in de- 
tail the co-operation desired upon request. 



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